Hubert Duprat’s Jeweled Bugs

I don’t like bugs, insects or spiders. I really don’t. I leap up and scream whenever one gets near me. However, when my son was little, I didn’t want to pass my fear/dislike of creepycrawlies on to him, so I pretended that I liked them. We went on many bug hunts, turning over rocks to observe them, marveling over strange insects we found, and doing research about them Several times the neighbor kids also joined in our hunt for interesting bugs. The children wouldn’t have even known that I disliked creepycrawlies if one child hadn’t told me there was a spider on me, and I suddenly went into the frantic “There-is-a-Bug-on-Me-Get-It-Off-NOW!” dance as they all looked on with amusement.

Over the years, I have developed a fascination with bugs…as long as they aren’t on me. There really are a lot of very fascinating bugs out there. Such as this one:

The common caddisfly is a moth-like insect, found near lakes, streams, ponds and rivers, and often used as a bait for trout fishermen. Caddisfly larvae are aquatic, and spin protective silk cases which incorporate bits of material from their surroundings, such as gravel, twigs or small pieces of shell.

In this remarkable work, simply entitled Caddis, French artist Hubert Duprat (b.1957) has collaborated with caddis larvae by gently placing them in an environment full of gold, pearls and semi-precious stones. The caddis then spin these materials into their casings to produce breathtaking jewel-encrusted covers.